Combat Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Options

[fameONE]

Should those who suffer from combat PTSD be recognized as casualties? How legitimate is mental illness in comparison to a physical injury? With this, should it be appropriate for a man/woman with PTSD to receive a purple heart?

[karmakiller]

You probably already know where I stand on this, but I think that we should take better care of the people who return, both physically and mentally. My brother's moved away, because there is so many things he can't deal with. He's one of those people that will freak out at the most random things. When he goes to the store he'll start flipping out when people get a cart, because of the noise the basket makes when it falls. If he's in the lower part of a house and someone is dragging their feet on the floor above, he freaks. There's been times that he's actually hit the floor. He isn't on medication, because since he's been medically discharged, they don't want to pay for it. He has shrapnal in his back and chest, which comes with an array of other health issues, and he can't get it removed because he has no way to pay for it. My brother has nine medals, and there are some of them that he is far from happy about having. I suppose it could be argued that people returning with PTSD have the mental scars of the conflict, while people returning with shrapnal and missing limbs have the physical scars of the conflict.

I don't know a whole lot about the Purple Heart, but along with it being awarded to someone who has been wounded or killed, it's also awarded for merit. So couldn't someone say that a person should be awarded the Purple Heart because they show merit and have had to be treated by a doctor (even though it's mental and not physical)?